The Montreal Canadiens announced that they have signed goaltender Charlie Lindgren to a three-year contract extension worth $2,250,000. This new contract carries him through the 2020-21 season and carries a $750,000 per year cap hit. His current contract was set to expire at the end of this season, which would have made him a restricted free agent.

Canadiens agree to terms on a three-year, one-way contract extension with goaltender Charlie Lindgren.

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— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) February 13, 2018

Charlie Lindgren re-signs with the Montreal Canadiens.

Lindgren has played all of his 11 NHL games with the Montreal Canadiens. He is 6-4-1 with a 2.21 goals-against-average and .929 save percentage in those 11 starts. He was signed as an undrafted free agent from St. Cloud University in the fall of 2015. In 28 games with the AHL’s Laval Rocket this year, Lindgren is 7-13-2 with a 3.15 GAA and .893 save percentage. He has spent most of his first two years of professional hockey in the AHL with Laval and the St. John’s IceCaps.

Last year in 48 games with St. John’s, Lindgren went 24-18-6 with a 2.56 GAA and five shutouts. This contract is a one-way deal.

What does this mean for the Future

This deal means that the Habs are looking to keep Lindgren around for a few more years, More importantly, the fact that they signed him to a 1-way contact more than likely means that he will be the backup to Carey Price next year. Earlier this year the Habs traded away Al Montoya, who missed time with a concussion, to Edmonton Oilers. They also claimed Antti Niemi off waivers from the Chicago Blackhawks. Niemi is the current backup but is an unrestricted free agent this summer. In six appearances since joining Montreal, Niemi is 2-1-1 with a 2.47 GAA.

With news breaking that Price was suffering from chronic fatigue earlier this year, the Habs should look to lighten his workload. Lindgren proved that he has the ability to play in the NHL when he filled in for Price earlier this season. Lindgren became the first Montreal rookie goaltender to win his first five career NHL starts since Wayne Thomas.

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